The garden changes from year to year, but its major elements give the garden a well-defined structure.

The round cypress fountain, backed by a weeping beech, anchors the undulating stone wall at the rear and the ever-changing herbacious border to the left.

Aside from this magnificent beech tree, there's a new hedge in the garden comprised of California Incense Cedar, weeping Alaskan Cedar and Hinoki False Cypress. (How's that for a combo?) The hedge was installed after a fire at the neighbor's house next door destroyed part of the garden.

The Nepalese autumn poppy (Meconopsis autumnalis) lives at an altitude between 10,827 to 13,780 feet and was found in the high mountain habitat of Nepal. The vibrant, tall yellow poppy flowers in autumn, and scientists say there is evidence the species was collected in the past, but was not recognized as new until botanists rediscovered it miles from human habitation in heavy monsoon rains.

This slender orchid was found in Papua New Guinea by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Leiden University. They named it Bulbophyllum nocturnum from the Latin word meaning "at night" because its flowers open at about 10PM and close early in the morning. The scientists believe it is the first recorded night-blooming plant among more than 25 thousand known species of orchids.

Entomologist Quentin Wheeler, who is director of the Institute, said the Top 10 is intended to "bring attention to the biodiversity crisis and the unsung species explorers and museums who continue a 250-year tradition of discovering and describing the millions of kinds of plants, animals and microbes with whom we share this planet." This the fifth year that the Institute has released a "Top 10" list. The release on May 23rd coincided with the birth date of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who devised the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications.

If you could have a garden like this one in Cambridge, MA, you, too, would wish that your house burned down. The current homeowners bought the modern house, which went up after the previous owners' traditional style house was destroyed by a fire.

Now, the front yard is dominated by a large beech tree that sucked up most of the water and finally persuaded the owners to pull out the rhododendrons, Virginia sweetspire and supposedly dry-shade-loving groundcovers and replace them with a dwarf bamboo (Pleioblastos viridistriatus) or golden bamboo.

As you head into the back yard, you walk through a side yard with needled evergreens on one side, some roses and groundcover on the other. You can't help but notice the five-trunked enormous beech tree in the distance, which dominates the entire back yard.

A large bed of petasites nicely balances the beech tree, which is to the right and just out of view. Note the tall bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Aureocaulis') on the back border that completely screens out the adjacent house, and the brick paths that wind in back of the petasites.

From the back deck, you can hear the sound of the small waterfall cascading into the pool -- in a location that's totally hidden from the rest of the garden by the giant leaves of the Butterbur. Ferns, epimedium, hostas, hellebores, pachysandra and other shade lovers are planted everywhere, ...

And of course you just can't ignore that magnificent copper beech tree. There arent' many modern houses in Cambridge, but it is perfect for the size of the lot, and the simple planting palette, with many bold textures, is exactly what's called for to complement the style of the residence.

The rose is named in honor of the 100th anniversary of Francis Meilland, the famous French rose breeder. Conard Pyle & Meilland International have been working together for more than 75 years to bring the French roses to the United States.

Steve Hutton, president of Conard-Pyle, said the new rose is special not just because of its "special beauty, fragrance and performance," but also "because it symbolizes our long relationship with Meilland International."

Francis Meilland has a strong fragrance, blooms of a beautiful light pink color, and dark green leaves. It reaches a height of about six feet with a spread of three feet. This rose also has exceptional disease resistance -- it underwent observations for two years in Europe under no-spray conditions. AARS voted recently to stop spraying all of its test roses with fungicides, so the winners should be able to perform without any need of chemicals. That's good news for everyone.